WUNRN
http://www.statelessness.eu/blog/generation-syrians-born-exile-risk-future-statelessness
A Generation of Syrians Born in Exile Risk a Future of Statelessness
15 July 2015 | Sarnata Reynolds and Tori Duoos, Refugees International
FULL 12-PAGE 2015 REPORT: http://refugeesinternational.org/sites/default/files/150430_turkey_birth_registration.pdf
Doctor Nazir’s pregnant wife arrived in Turkey with a one-year
old and no documentation. They had fled the unbearable bombardment of their
home town, Aleppo, while Dr. Nazir remained in Syria to work in an underground
field hospital. Dr. Nazir had defected from the Syrian military in 2012, and
was officially declared dead the same year. Because he no longer legally
existed, Dr. Nazir was unable to register his 2013 marriage or the birth of his
first child in Aleppo. When his second baby was born in Turkey in 2015,
shortly after his wife’s arrival, she could not file an application for the
baby’s birth certificate because Dr. Nazir remained in Syria and she had no
legal proof of her marriage or her husband’s birth certificate.
For Syrian babies born outside the country, acquiring a birth
certificate that records the Syrian father’s name is critical, because Syrian
nationality law discriminates against women by only permitting children born
outside the country to claim citizenship through their father. Yet, tens of
thousands of Syrian births are occurring without the presence of a father
because he is dead, missing or fighting. Without official proof of a Syrian
father, exiled Syrian children are at a heightened risk of statelessness, which
could make their ability to access education, health care and social services
less likely, and could prove a barrier to returning and taking up Syrian
citizenship, if and when the possibility arises.
OPPORTUNITIES TO DECREASE THE RISK OF STATELESSNESS AND CHALLENGES
TO IMPLEMENTING THEM
Registering Babies for “Refugee” Benefits in Turkey
By registering in Turkey, Syrian refugees are recorded as
“guests” and entitled to remain in the country temporarily as well as access
education and health care. These are important opportunities that do not exist
for Syrians in many other countries of refuge. Turkey has recorded more than
1.5 million Syrian refugees, but the actual number of Syrians could be as high
as 3 million. The gap between the actual and recorded number of Syrians is
likely due to a combination of factors, including the sheer number of refugees
and the capacity of the Turkish registration system to document them, but it is
also due to confusion about where and how to register.
When Refugees International (RI) spoke with Turkish government
officials in March of this year, we learned that to register babies as guests,
Syrian parents must first obtain a “birth report” from a hospital (for births
that don’t occur in hospitals because the mother is under age 18 or a second
wife, this can be an insurmountable challenge). This administrative
document records general information about the baby such as its name, date and
location of birth, gender, and the parents’ names. The father may not be
recorded on the birth report if he is not present and the mother does not have
their marriage or his birth certificate. Yet, recording the father’s name and
location of birth on the birth report, regardless of whether documents are
available to substantiate it at the time, could prove key to demonstrating a
right to Syrian citizenship.
Next, the parents must take the birth report to the
“foreigners’police”, who record the newborn as a guest in Turkey, and issues
temporary protection. Although the foreigners’ police can record a father’s
name even without his presence or documents that prove a direct link to the
child, RI was told that oftentimes the father’s name is not recorded because
officers are not aware that they can base parentage on information provided by
the mother alone. Complicating matters, Arabic names are written in the Turkish
alphabet, which may cause confusion later if names are translated back into
Arabic names and do not match the father’s name.
Although not as weighty as a birth certificate, refugee
registration with the Turkish government would provide a newborn with some
proof of parental lineage that could be used in the future to support a right
to Syrian citizenship. Without even administrative records of birth, the burden
of proving a right to citizenship of Syria will be daunting and put children
born in exile, and those born in Syria without recorded births, at a
heightened risk of statelessness.
Applying for an International or Syrian Birth Certificate
Refugees International learned that to apply for an
international birth certificate in Turkey, parents must submit a newborn’s
birth report to the local ”Population Department,” which is housed within the
Ministry of Interior. The child may be issued an international birth
certificate listing both parents if the father is present, or the mother has
their marriage certificate and the father’s birth certificate. An
application for an international birth certificate must occur within 30 days or
a fee will be assessed, thereby making it more difficult for Syrian parents to
document the birth of a child and legally link the child to a Syrian father. RI
recommended that the late fee be waived as the risk of statelessness is of
immeasurably greater concern than the administrative burden of processing a
late request for an international birth certificate.
Refugees International did not speak to one Syrian who was aware
of the opportunity to apply for an international birth certificate, and through
meetings with members of the Turkish government, it was evident that many of
them were also not aware of the process. Turkish government officers who deal
with Syrian refugees, and particularly those who meet with Syrian parents,
should be trained on the importance of the birth registration and certification
processes and be able to explain them to Syrian parents either in Arabic or
through an interpreter. In cases where a Syrian father is not present, as well
as collecting information about the name, date, and location of birth of
newborns, officers should also gather as much information as possible about the
father’s background, including his name, the date and location of his birth,
and his parents’ names.
Syrians may also pursue a birth certificate through the Syrian
consulate in Istanbul. For so many people like Dr. Nazir, however, appearing
before the Syrian consulate could put him and his family in danger, so this
avenue is neither realistic nor safe for those Syrians viewed as hostile to the
Assad regime, including human rights defenders, journalists, doctors and other
medical professionals, and absconders from the Assad military.
Babies with Turkish Fathers and Syrian Mothers
Syrian women and girls are vulnerable to underage marriage,
sexual exploitation, and polygamous marriages, and the experts RI spoke with in
Turkey were concerned that all three situations were on the rise. Because
polygamy and underage marriage are illegal in Turkey, these marriages are not recorded and
therefore, although the father is Turkish, babies born in these types of
situations may end up stateless because the birth takes place in a home and is
not legally recorded. RI was told by the Turkish government that each member of
an underage or polygamous marriage could be prosecuted if their arrangement was
discovered at a hospital or government office, and to avoid this, many parents
are choosing not to record the births of children from these marriages at all.
Safeguards in Turkish Law to Protect from Statelessness
To Turkey’s credit, Turkish nationality law includes provisions
specifically put in place to avoid statelessness. Turkey is a signatory to the
1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and in March 2015, and
includes a safeguard in its nationality law for children born to a stateless parent.
Additionally, a new ‘Law on Foreigners and International Protection,’ allows people
determined to be stateless to access certain protections and to request
permanent residency in Turkey.
Statelessness Concerns for Syrian Adults in Exile
Statelessness is also a concern for Syrian adults. Over the past
four years of war, many Syrians have lost their identity documents when their
homes were destroyed or as they fled the country. Indeed, not only will Dr.
Nazir’s children find it challenging to prove they have a right to Syrian
citizenship - Dr. Nazir himself will face a similar obstacle. “I don’t have an
ID,” he revealed, “because my home was in a regime area and all my documents
were destroyed.” He is one of likely thousands of former members of the Syrian
military who have been recorded as dead after absconding. How Dr. Nazir and
others like him will be able to acquire new documentation of his Syrian
nationality, and whether he and his family will be allowed to return to Syria
as citizens remain open questions. Many Syrians who have managed to keep
identity documents find that they are expiring and can only be renewed at a
Syrian consulate or in Syria itself. New procedures allow Syrian refugees to renew passports at the Syrian consulate in their country of
refuge, supposedly without consequences and regardless of their military or
migration status. Yet, for Syrian refugees, being identified by Syrian
authorities could put them in danger. In recent developments, the
self-proclaimed Islamic State has made a point to destroy Syrian passports and legal records, which could make it even
more difficult for Syrians to return home and take up their citizenship.
CONCLUSION:
Dr. Nazir’s situation illuminates the complexity of registering
for status in Turkey as well as acquiring a birth certificate in the midst of a
brutal war taking place in a country that does not permit women to transmit
nationality to their children. The best way to address the risk of statelessness
for Syria’s youth born abroad would be to amend Syria’s nationality law so that
women and men could pass on citizenship equally. In the meantime, a more
accessible registration and certification process for Syrian refugees in
Turkey, coupled with the collection of more robust information about a
newborn’s Syrian father, would go a long way toward preventing and reducing the
risk of statelessness among Syria’s children.
In support of this goal, Turkish and international humanitarian actors who work with Syrian refugees should understand the long-term impact of not registering children, including the risk of statelessness, and seek out information about the experiences of Syrians attempting to register and secure birth certificates for their children. Challenges should be documented and shared with relevant Turkish officials, the UNHCR, and UNICEF. UN agencies should meet regularly with relevant Turkish officials to address challenges and inform Syrian refugees of changes or improvements to the registration and certification systems.